Thursday, January 22, 2009

Environmentalism is the social movement of the “landed interest” – an interest parallel to that of neither business nor labour. “Environmentalism” is readily identifiable in early 19th century Britain. This essay draws from the best-known writings of the era’s three most influential intellectuals for a portrait of an anti-democratic, anti-liberal social movement based in the aristocracy but claiming to represent the masses; a movement permeated with the ideas of over-population theorist T. Malthus; a movement benefitting from restricting land supply and suffering from advancing agricultural technology; that fought a cultural civil war using literary Romanticism and monkish asceticism; that was militantly protectionist regarding agriculture; that constrained industrial progress and spread fear of catastrophe.

2 comments:

Had you not noticed that the Greenies and NIMBYs talk almost the same language, they're against e.g. Heathrow third terminal and for 'protecting the green belt', aka restricting supply of housing?

Only the real driving force is no longer large landowners (who cash in the CAP subsidies - different topic) it's perfectly ordinary home-owners doing it - and they are by and large also workers, entrepreneurs, air passengers, whatever. So they're cutting off their noses to spite their faces.

...have you noticed too the editing of Obama's inaugrual speech by the BBC. An attempt by the look of it to make his speech more appealing to BBC green listeners and deceive the rest of us.Please see this travesty and fraud at...http://ccgi.newbery1.plus.com/blog/?p=147